


The Stars Look Plain Compared to You

by astromirage



Series: Tsukkiyama Week 2020 [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Childhood Friends, Cute Yamaguchi Tadashi, Gay Tsukishima Kei, M/M, Painting, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:21:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26112568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astromirage/pseuds/astromirage
Summary: Snapshots from Kei and Tadashi's long standing relationship, but with art.DAY 3: CHILDHOOD/ARTIST
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: Tsukkiyama Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1892545
Kudos: 43
Collections: TsukkiYama Week 2020





	The Stars Look Plain Compared to You

Yamaguchi sits in a corner, scribbling on a sheet of paper with a green crayon. He looks up at a boy, he's blonde and has a blue crayon clutched in his chubby hands. Tadashi quirks his head to the side with a questioning look. 

"Can I color with you?" He asks. 

Tadashi nods, smiling, he fumbles to hand him a piece of paper. Kei sits down at the brightly colored table and begins drawing a picture. 

Tadashi watches as he calmly draws unstable stick figures. "Who's that?" He asks, looking at the boy. 

"That's my brother. I call him Aki!" He says smiling brightly. 

He proudly holds up the paper, showcasing his art. 

"Woah! That's cool!" 

Kei sets it back down and his smile does not dissipate. 

As the day winds down, they chat excitedly about their families and their hobbies. 

Kei's mom walks into the daycare room looking around for her son. She smiles as she notices him talking with another boy. She walks over to the table and squats down. 

"Who's your friend Kei?" 

"I don't know. Whas your name?" 

"Yamaguchi Tadashi! Whas yours?" 

"Tsukishima Kei!" 

"I'll call you Tsukki!" 

Kei smiles and stands up. "See you tomorrow Yamaguchi!" 

"Bye!" He says, waving at the boy getting picked up into his mother's arms. 

~ 

Kei and Tadashi sit together everyday at daycare. They stay close to each other because they don't have any other friends, whether that's intentional or not, doesn't matter. This continues into elementary school, they're the only ones they need. 

~ 

Tadashi quietly draws away on a blank paper, Kei plops down next to him. 

"What are you drawing?" 

"It's me and you, Tsukki!" He says, scribbling Kei's hair on. 

"It's cute!" 

"Do you want to keep it when I'm done?"

"Make sure to sign your name, so everyone knows it's yours." 

"You got it Tsukki!" He giggles and quickly writes his name in chicken scratch in the corner. 

He quickly folds up the paper and hands it to his best friend. "Here you go Tsukki!" 

"Thank you Yamaguchi! I'll cherish it forever." he puts it in his backpack. 

"I'm so glad!" He shouts, hugging onto Kei tightly. 

~

Tadashi's drawing stays on the fridge for years. 

~ 

Kei sighs as he looks out the window, his lunch is sitting in front of him. He always waits for Tadashi to eat, but for the first time ever, he didn't have Tadashi in his class. So he'd have to wait for him to come to his class. Soon enough Tadashi bursts into the middle school year one class 3 room. 

He excitedly walks over to Kei's desk and pulls up a stray chair. 

"Sorry I was late Tsukki. I wanted to get you a drink." 

Kei blushes as Tadashi reveals a strawberry milk can. "Oh. Thank you." 

As Tadashi goes to open his bento, Kei quickly sets down a bag in front of the boy. 

"What's this?" He asks, picking up the bag. 

Embarrassedly Tsukishima coughs and explains. "My mom made me dinosaur cookies and I wanted to give some to you." 

"Aw, you're so sweet! Thank you." 

Kei's face once again floods with blush and he smiles. "You're welcome." 

They eat almost quietly, except when Tadashi excitedly says "Oh wait! Here you go!" 

Kei looks up from his lunch and licks his lips. "What?" 

Yamaguchi pulls out a few papers. "I painted the night sky for you! You mentioned that you liked stars so I did that." 

"Oh." Kei looks down at the crisp papers in disbelief, his heart flutters and he holds them softly. "This is amazing Yamaguchi. Thank you." 

"Always Tsukki!" 

~

Kei keeps those paintings in a box so they don't get damaged. Tadashi thinks he threw them away years ago. 

~ 

Kei stands at the other side of the court, staring at his brother, face inked with sorrow and brokenness. He lied. 

Tadashi can't take his eyes off of his only friend. He immediately wraps his arms around him, hoping to ground him before he falls deeper into despair. Kei feels warmth at his side and he blinks. 

"Do you wanna go home Kei?" 

Tsukishima looks down at him and nods. He never calls him by his given name. 

"Yes, please." Kei mutters, looking away finally and holding onto Tadashi in return. 

"Okay." 

He leads him away quickly. 

As they walk into Kei's house, Tadashi notices the drawing of Kei and Akiteru from the first day they met in a frame on the wall. He looks away painfully. 

"Let's get you into bed." He leads him up his stairs and into his room. "Do you want me to make you lunch?" 

"Please." His voice is soft and shaky. 

"You got it." He walks away and into the kitchen, Kei's fridge is covered in the drawings he's given the blonde boy. 

He smiles sadly and finds two packages of ramen in the cupboard. He cooks it quickly and separates them quickly and brings it upstairs. 

"Tsukki! I brought you ramen," he opens the door to the sight of Kei on his bed, his head buried into his knees. 

He looks up and wipes away the stray tears that wet his cheeks. "Thank you." 

~ 

After that, they only get closer. Kei clings onto the boy in private after seeing Akiteru tear apart his room. Tadashi willingly stays close as Kei slowly closes off from anyone but him. He willingly stays close as he feels himself slowly falling for the blonde boy. 

Kei closes off from everyone. Tadashi is the only one who makes him feel safe. He pulls in closer when they're alone. He's loved him for a long time. 

~ 

Kei holds Tadashi's hand tightly as they walk into the locker room. Everyone turns and smiles. 

"Happy birthday Tsukishima!" they all shout. 

Kei blushes and looks down at a mischievously smiling Tadashi. "Did you plan this?" 

"Yes! Of course! Was I not going to tell my volleyball team about my boyfriend's birthday?" 

"Thank you, I guess." he says, pulling him into a kiss. 

Tadashi kisses back and melts. Hinata pulls a cake from his locker. "Me and Kageyama made this for you! It's strawberry shortcake! Yamaguchi said it was your favorite." he smiles as Kei turns to face the boy. 

He smiles slightly and takes. "Thank you. I'm sure it's great." 

He sets it down on the table beside the door and turns to his locker. He opens it only to see a box. He takes it out and looks at the name that says "Tadashi" 

He looks at his boyfriend and smiles. 

"Well unwrap it." Yamaguchi says jokingly. 

He nods and gently tears at the wrapping paper. He sets the paper in his open locker. 

It's a painting of him, against his favorite thing, stars. He feels tears invade his eyes and he hugs Tadashi tightly. 

"Thank you. It's beautiful."


End file.
